For the purpose of my project, the exercise will focus on the preparation, alteration of recipes, their execution and actual photography of the final dishes. Throughout the process, I will attempt to go the natural way by avoiding the use of artificial chemicals and other colorants that may give an impressive visual effect on the photos but render the food inedible. Similarly, my project will focus on the utilization of natural light to ensure an original feel on the photos as well as minimize the post-processing time (Dujardin, 2011).
The project will focus on two culinary events that will include the preparation and setup of different dishes where I intend to undertake photography through the process. Ideally, I plan to publish the gallery on my personal blog and Flickr account as well as make it part of my undergraduate project that aims to elucidate the impact of food photography in the twenty-first century with a focus on food fairs. The choice of the subject was influenced by the fact that in the recent past interest in food photography has been on the rise a factor that has changed the perception the society had on culinary activities. Since I am a culinary enthusiast, it will be my pleasure to explore food photography from various perspectives to have an in-depth understanding of the discipline. For the sake of my self-negotiated project I intend to undertake photography in the following events:
Salt City annual food fair
Culinary exhibition at Winsor Hotel
Preparation and setup of a three-course meal at Serena Hotel
Blankets and Wines annual gala
Since each of these events has a different theme, I will focus on individual dish shots, recipe alteration, and food styling. The setting of the events is essential. Thus I will emphasize on covering the events right from the preparation of different dishes to take account the manner in which the outcome takes shape (Dujardin, 2011).
I have intentions of publishing my self-negotiated project on my food blog, Flickr and Instagram accounts. The fact that the blog has been running for more than a year makes it a perfect platform since it has gained immense traffic over that period with useful reviews from the audience. Relatively, Flickr and Instagram are trending platforms where lovers of photography explore different forms of art. Thus, the vast fellowship on my accounts will offer my project sufficient exposure to the audience. Consequently, I will be in a position to showcase not only my photographic skills but also obtain useful reviews that will work towards enhancing my overall expertise. The target audience for this project is food enthusiast and individuals with interests in food photography as well as culinary trends.
The techniques I will employ for my project will include aperture and lighting experimentation, food styling and alteration of recipes to ensure the best visual effect on the images (Bellingham and Bybee, 2012). Notably, since the process will mostly involve static objects, shutter speed experimentation will not be applicable. The fact that the project will include the shooting of small objects, artificial lighting will be essential in creating impressive images. Ideally, the technique will be crucial when shooting a majority of items to ensure even light distribution as a way of preventing the creation of shadows ((Young, 2015). Conversely, a majority of the items I will shoot will be indoors and some in unusual settings. Thus, I will make an extensive use of studio lighting and the white board to create a setup that will result in images that capture sufficient details (Campbell, 2012). Implementation of F-stop will form a critical part of my project since a significant portion of the items will be shot in unique settings. Thus, I will employ a higher F-stop to create artistic images by freezing aspects that seem arbitrary.
Similarly, I will use a microlens in most of the shootings so that I can focus on the abstract patterns of the objects with the intent of ensuring sufficient details in the image. Additionally, I will employ Photoshop CS5 to post-process certain aspects of my pictures. The tools I will utilize in Photoshop are meant to highlight texture and color with the objective of enhancing hue and clarity in the pictures (Dujardin, 2011). The inspiration to undertake this project came from different quarters. However, I must admit that my greatest inspiration was from various figures that have ventured into food photography for instance Forkinpancakes, Dennistheproscott, Ebitihalista and Hamad Blaze. Ideally, these individuals are foot photographers that have shot images for favorite blogs and food magazines besides being influential Instagram personalities. That notwithstanding, I was also motivated to venture into this project by the broad range of cookbooks that I own in addition to the food commercials run on television. In that light, I thought that I would use photography to create atheistically appealing images to communicate a message and promote products.
Hamad Blaze is one of the most sought after food photographers in Ukraine that provides content for major blogs and magazines in the country. She has covered major food fairs across Europe such as the Prague Culinary Fair 2015 commanding a huge following both on Instagram and in her personal blog.
Ideally, I have analyzed several images done by Hamad to identify the manner I would improve my skills to capture photos that are detailed and precise. The image of the hamburger is sufficiently detailed with a freeze on the background to cancel any distractions from the original item. Relatively, the photographer employed lots of lighting thus achieving saturation, hue, and clarity in the image (Campbell, 2012).
Forkinpancakes is yet another inspiring food photographer that creatively employs varied backgrounds coupled with selective lighting to come up with impressive images. Ideally, Forkinpancakes implements the hessian sheet to given the image background rustic textured feel resulting in a homely food photograph (Bellingham and Bybee, 2012). I will implement Forkinpancakes’ strategy in my project to achieve that level of creativity and clarity.
Dennistheproscott is an amazing photographer with numerous creative images under his name. The image below is a shot of a Hawaiian pizza in a culinary establishment. He implemented a unique angle in this picture a factor that resulted in a detailed image with great exposure. Similarly, the birds’ view instills a fresh look to the image an element that I will try to incorporate in my project. Notably, the image is well lit thus allowing the definition of intricate patterns in the items (Dujardin, 2011).
Ebitihalista is a talented photographer that employs unique angles to capture detailed images. I have analyzed a couple of his work and realized the emphasis she puts on maximizing detail in images. In that perspective, I intend to employ a similar technique by optimizing the features of my camera to capture detailed photos as possible. Ebitihalist not only focuses on detail but she is creative regarding the selection of shoot angles as well as selective lighting that creates a homely feel on the food photographs (Young, 2015).
The project will take into consideration both legal and ethical provisions by contacting all the establishments where the actual shooting will undertake. In that light, I will seek permission from the management of Windsor and Serena Hotels as well as obtain a photographer’s pass during the other two events. Relatively, I will uphold a high level of integrity by ensuring respect of intellectual property rights. In that regard, the images that I have highlighted in this report will only serve as an inspiration, and thus I will not copy any aspect of the items but strive to produce my original creations. Relatively, I will liaise with the relevant persons during the events to ensure that my activities are within the stipulated code of conduct. Additionally, I will employ both healthy and safety precautions when setting up the scene by avoiding the use of any colorants and chemicals that can render the food inedible.
- Bellingham, L. and Bybee, J.A., 2012. Food Styling for Photographers: A Guide to Creating Your Own Appetizing Art. CRC Press.
- Campbell, T., 2012. Food Photography & Lighting: A Commercial Photographer’s Guide to Creating Irresistible Images. New Riders.
- Dujardin, H., 2011. Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography and Styling. John Wiley & Sons.
- Young, N.S., 2015. Food photography: from snapshots to great shots. Peachpit Press.